It happened that the second day we were in Buenos Aires fell on a Friday. It also happened that after class, Osvaldo and Coca were headed to La Baldosa for a special tribute milonga - a Tribute to Osvaldo and Coca's 55 years in Tango!
So, jet lagged and still tired from our flight from Toronto, we tag along with Osvaldo and Coca to the barrio of Flores to popular milonga La Baldosa. We were looking forward to a nice relaxing evening out catching up with our teachers and perhaps getting a little dancing in.
"Don't sit there like a lump - dance, nene!" was Osvaldo's advice to us. So what does Man Yung do? Man Yung goes and dances with Coca:
Man Yung dancing with Coca at La Baldosa - a tanda of Troilo with Fiorentino
Man Yung is always nervous dancing with Coca. She is his idol - his maestra. "Mucho miedo!"* Coca says after the tanda, laughing. Look at how calm and patient Coca is - she is taking care of Man Yung on the dance floor! The hallmarks of a world class milonguera: feeling, tranquility...security. And of course, magic red tango shoes.
* "Lots of fear!
Here's more magic: Osvaldo and Coca dancing at La Baldosa. Man Yung is following them with the camera. Of course they never get to finish any song - everywhere they go they spot someone they know. And off they dart - to kiss and say hello. So many distractions, you say! But when they do dance, their concentration on the music and each other is absolute:
Osvaldo and Coca - Social dancing at La Baldosa
So we are sitting there enjoying the milonga and talking to Osvaldo and Coca - when Osvaldo suddenly starts up. "What do you want to dance to?" Uh-oh. Deja vu of what happened at Circulo Apolo in March. This time Osvaldo and Coca doesn't even pretend that it isn't what it is. They want us to perform at their tribute. "But I'm scared!" I said. "Tonta!"* Coca says. They figure that what we are doing is acceptable to them - and that will be just fine and dandy for everyone else at La Baldosa, one of the most important milongas in Buenos Aires. I feel my throat closing up and I'm starting to have a fever and perhaps some kind of rash - allergy to exhibitions, perhaps. If they call an ambulance now I'll be able to miss the performance altogether!
* "Silly!"
No such escape hatch. "So what do you want to dance to?" asks Osvaldo again.
"Poema!" yells Man Yung. A tribute to Osvaldo and Coca means dancing one of their signature songs. He didn't even need me to translate.
So here we are dancing to Canaro's "Poema":
A little "Surprise" for everyone - we go first and perform to "Poema" at Osvaldo and Coca's Tribute.
Osvaldo filmed and provided the commentary soundtrack - consisting of a lot of mirth, giggling and cackling!
Osvaldo filmed and provided the commentary soundtrack - consisting of a lot of mirth, giggling and cackling!
Here's a little something for Bob and Viv - the gentleman whom we greeted at the end of our performance is none other than your maestro, Jorge Garcia! We have known him (and admired his wonderful dancing) since Elba Biscay's birthday party in 2008!
Looking at it afterwards, we cannot fail but be amazed - not at us (thank god we got some applause), but at Osvaldo and Coca's confidence in us.
"We had just got off the plane. The only dancing that Osvaldo and Coca had seen of us was in class... they offered no advice on performing and no coaching whatsoever. How could they be sure that we weren't going to be an absolute and utter embarrassment on the dance floor?" Man Yung asked me.
I thought about it for a second. "I think Osvaldo and Coca have a lot of faith in their opinion of us. Sure, we may be just a couple of silly ducklings. Nevertheless, it's enough for us to dance simply, if we could dance with feeling and musicality. To Osvaldo and Coca, it's good enough for an exhibition, because that's what tango is about. That's what they have been teaching us all along. We didn't need to rush out and get into swan costumes and start practicing pirouettes if that's not what we really were!"
Now we've got that out of the way, please enjoy the rest of the performances from that night!
Here's Pedro Ochoa and Fatima Vitale, reknowned Buenos Aires tango teachers and performers (and Pedro Ochoa is also a musician, playing double bass with his group Z Club Tango Trio), performing to Laurenz's "No me extrana":
[We emailed Pedro Ochoa to tell him that we had posted the video of his performance on Youtube as we had promised to do when we talked to him and his partner Fatima at La Baldosa. He emailed us back a very nice email - apparently he has toured in Montreal, Canada before, in 2008 and 2010. He is looking forward to returning to North America again, hopefully in 2011. You can get more information on Pedro Ochoa at his website www.pedroochoatango.blogspot.com and Myspace page for Z Club Tango Trio www.myspace.com/zclubtangotrio]
Here's Andreas Erbsen and Ruth Manonellas, the principals and owners of the tango school "El Tacuari" performing a dramatic Pugliese tango:
[Hey Bob and Viv, we think you would like this! - a gift from Irene and Man Yung] Of course, fleet-footed Jorge Garcia and his lovely partner Susana Soar brought down the house with their electrifying milonga:
Photo op! Jorge and Susana very graciously granted us an opportunity to photograph us all together after the performances ended:
And last but not least, Osvaldo and Coca concluded the evening's exciting performances with their beautiful rendition of Orquesta Tipica Victor's "Carillon de Merced":
And then a little extra as everyone took to the floor in a group dance. Partner exchanges permitted!:
* Please note that the ladies (except for Coca) did not call each other before the milonga to coordinate their shoes. It is pure coincidence that all of us are wearing silver stilettos!
Dear Reader(s): You may be completely exhausted by the cornucopia of tango video goodness in this post - but don't throw in the towel yet. There's more coming! Don't say that we aren't doing our best to bring Buenos Aires to you, wherever you may be in the world.
Osvaldo and Coca, Andreas and Ruth of El Tacuari tango school, friends - at La Baldosa, October 15, 2010
